Improvement in coal and potato screens



W. VAN HOUTEN. Coal and Potat Screen.

Patented April 9, 1878..

. NPETERS, PHOTd-LITMOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON` D. C.

UNITED. STATES PATENTI OEEIcE.

WILLIAM VAN HOUTEN, OF PELLA, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COAL AND POTATO SCREENS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 202, 306, dated April 9, 1878; application filed November 21, 1877.

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM VAN HOUTEN, of Pella, in the county of Marion, State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Screens for Cleaning and Assorting Coal, Potatoes, ,&c., which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my screen, with one corner broken away to show arrangement of screens and drawer; and Fig-2 is a vertical sectional view of the same, showing the sliding standard attachment in use.

The object of my invention is to secure a screen by the use of which potatoes, coal, or any like articles, may be assorted and cleaned as they are received into the car or warehouse without further or other labor or handling than the necessary act of unloading the same, and without the application of power necessary to produce the jerking motion so essential to secure good work in all horizontal screens, and also to retain in the drawer beneath all dirt, rejected sizes, &c., that their weight may be -easily ascertained and deducted rom the load in gross.

In the drawings, A is a screen or grate, its upper end resting on a movable bar, F, passing through the frame H from side to side, its lower end resting against the front sill of the frame H. O is a tight board slide, moving up and down in grooves formed by cleats on the inside of the frame H, and held in any desired position by the pin E. B is an additional screen, to be used at pleasure for the more thorough separation and cleaning of the articles to be screened, also moving in grooves and held in' position like slide C. G G are sliding standards attached to the frame H, by

which it can be elevated to the desired height, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the articles to be screened are thrown upon the slide @they pass down upon the screen A, through which the dirt and small sizes fall into the drawer D, while the merchantable sizes pass down the screen into the doorway of the car or warehouse by which it may be placed.

It will also be seen that the screen A can be used at different angles to give uniform velocity to articles of different shape and weight passing over it, thus securing a uniform result. Should the articles be very dirty, a more thorough cleaning will be effected by the use of the screen B in addition to screen A.

A scale-platform may be substituted for the drawer D, by which the weight of the dirt and rejected sizes may be ascertained at once.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the screen A, the sliding and adjustable screen B, and the sliding board O, as and for the purpose shown and described.

2. 'Ihel combination of the drawer D with the sliding and adjustable screen B and sliding board O, substantially as specified.

3. The sliding standard G G, in combination with the frame H of the screen, substantially as shown and described.

WILLIAM VAN HOUTEN.

Attest:

IRA M. EARLE, FRANK SNow. 

